1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to entertainment and architectural lighting, and more specifically is a device to control the pan and tilt of a plurality of different types of lighting fixtures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different types of lighting fixtures are used in theater, television, touring productions, film production, and architectural applications. The fixtures are selectively used in varying combinations to obtain a desired artistic result. The fixtures vary in physical size, lamp wattage, lamp technology, operating temperature, lamp life, projected beam divergence angle, distribution of the light across the beam, color, and other attributes.
Some of the fixtures currently in use have automatic adjustment of at least some of the various attributes of the fixture, including some fixtures that have automated pan and tilt. However, most of the conventional fixtures currently in use do not have automated control of pan and tilt. The pan and tilt adjustment of the conventional fixtures must be done manually, a job which is often awkward, dangerous, and time consuming. It is most often impossible to make pan and/or tilt adjustments for dramatic effect and multitasking during a performance.
Prior art examples of fixtures that have numerous automated attribute adjustments, including pan and tilt adjustment, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,914,556 and 6,048,080 by Richardson and Bellvieau respectively. The lights that were developed as a result of these inventions have specific applications that match their performance. But many desirable lighting characteristics, such as high output, long life, low output, and most importantly low cost are not are not provided by these fixtures. Fixtures that are highly automated have become more popular over the last twenty years, but fixed lights still constitute the majority of the fixtures used in theater, television, touring productions, film productions, and architectural applications.
Fixtures that are more popular than the partially automated fixtures for use in theater productions are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,371, by Cunningham and Esakoff respectively. The lights that were developed as a result of these inventions were tailored to theater and touring type productions. These lights have no automated attributes as supplied by their manufactures.
Other manufacturers have developed automated add-on products to automate various attributes of the fixtures. One such device that is designed to automate pan and tilt is manufactured by City Theatrical of NY, and is called the AutoYoke. This product is expensive due to its relatively complex construction, and is difficult to use. Use of the product requires that the fixture be stripped of its yoke in order to be installed into the AutoYoke. Further, the device is manufactured for one specific lighting fixture. The yoke cannot be used on fixtures that are of a different size than the fixture for which the yoke is specifically designed. Lastly, if another attribute is automated, such as adding a color changer such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,652 by Richardson, the balance of the fixture is greatly effected.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device that can automate pan and tilt adjustment of a conventional lighting fixture. The adjustment can be controlled by a user at a remote location or by a computer, or the device can be preprogrammed to perform specific effects.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device that can perform automated pan and tilt adjustment of a conventional lighting fixture even if the fixture is out of balance following initial installation.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device that is flexible enough to automate the pan and tilt adjustment of a large variety of different sized and shaped fixtures.
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to allow easy assembly of a wide variety of fixtures in the automatic pan and tilt adjustment device.